Ride side-by-side the whole way. Good hard surface for mountain bikes, just a very few soft sandy spots along fields. Pretty flat (a degree or two) except for a few road crossings.

Can start downtown Shippensburg, or we usually start a mile East at the Shippensburg Township Park to avoid walker congestion. Wide path with no power lines, can ride side-by-side the whole way. Very scenic on the bike, when there are banks on the side they can be typically seen over if on a bike. Quite a bit of tree tunneling to pedal through. There is also quite a bit of unprotected trail, so would not recommend riding on hot summer day with sun directly overhead. Especially true past Newville.

Have done this trail a dozen times over 5 years, it is consistently good with light traffic once you get away from the University. Good old/Amish/Mennonite farm scenery with animals, there is a one mile section with views of the mountain range 10 miles away. Stunning. This is one of the prettier trails we've done in the last 10 year.

Facilities along way. A great old ice cream shop with a non-working soda fountain in Newville. Be sure to go inside, though they also have picnic tables outside.

Recommend early spring through late fall, avoid hot summer when the corn is tallest and the sun directly overhead. Benches and sufficient picnic tables along the way, though nearly all are in direct sun in summer.

It’s a fantastic trail, scenic by the River and we saw wildlife and it’s in superb condition.

At sunset park it’s a nice trail. Once you get to Toftrees a short ride away, it turns into dirt and rocks. Not worth seeking out unless you live in SC.

Though open to bicycles, this trail is very rough with it's washboard surface and large gravel. I even found it difficult to walk on.
We parked at the Gillentown trailhead (approx mile marker 49) and proceeded to bike towards the higher mile marker numbers. Though it was very pretty, the surface was rough. Some points we got off and walked our bikes and even walking was difficult. We only went out a few miles then turned around coming back to the parking area. We proceed to bike the other direction, lower mile marker numbers and towards the Clarence end of the trail which was packed limestone and much smoother though only 3 miles from Gillentown to Clarence.
We wanted to see the Peale Tunnel which was on the bumpy section of the trail and never made it that far. We also wanted to ride across the Viaduct which is farther out. Found out it's been closed since 2013 and no plans in the near future to open it. It's in very poor rotted condition and would take a lot of work to make it passable.
This trail is mainly for ATV's which you need a membership. It's also open to Equestrians and for walking/hiking.

We rode the western section of the trail, most of the time there is constant noise from the nearby highway. The trail is well maintained but the stone surface is rough compared to many of the stone trails we have ridden. Much of the trail was in full sun, which on a cool day in October was okay. Also the rest room (portable toilet) at the train was closed and a sign read, "Closed for spring cleaning".

Good ride for a flat lander from OK with wiener dog in toe. Short but very pleasant!

A group of us traveled about 90 minutes to ride this trail and it was surely worth it!
Trail is packed crushed limestone in very good condition. The trail offers a lot of history including several ghost towns, hence the name, Ghost Town Trail. Trail follows very shallow and orange Black Lick Creek.
We parked in Saylor park at mile 0 and biked to Vintondale (mile 19) and back. It is a gradual incline the entire distance making the return trip very easy.
Trail services: have never seen so many nice restrooms....located every few miles, and some had picnic areas as well. There isn't any where along the trail for water so make sure you have some, and food.
In Dilltown there is a B & B and gift shop which sells water and snack but make sure they are open first.
We passed two furnaces on our journey, the Beuna Vista and Eliza Furnaces.
All in all a great trail and worth the drive to get to. Most importantly, research the elevation, you will want to start in Black Lick and head towards Ebensburg.
We did not cover the entire trail and plan to go back to finish.

We wanted to try a new trail and this was the closest trail with a distance worth driving for. The trail is in stellar shape, well maintained with paved sections at both ends...crushed gravel over the majority. As it’s coming in and out of two towns, lots of crossings, safely identified and set up...just know that. Beautiful Farmland here!! We started and ended in the Madisonburg end as we then went to Rusty Rail afterwards, which you can either walk to from that terminus or drive over to.

We also cannot locate any designated parking for the Houtzdale area. Plenty of parking in Smoke Run in lot. Trail west of Smoke Run is very bumpy and better done on a mountain bike. Also, east of Houtzdale is very rough and again with a mountain bike. We turned around at both of those locations. Right now there is plenty of debris on the trail because of brush being cut back. Very rough again. When debris is clear it will be a great run again.